


Hey Pal.

by PassionateFangirl



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Give Them A Fucking Break, Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, these poor children, they need therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:20:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28531350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PassionateFangirl/pseuds/PassionateFangirl
Summary: Ratchet finds Clank after two exhausting years, and the two quickly reflect on their time without one another; and how it changed them.(Takes place during A Crack in Time)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Hey Pal.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Before you start reading, I just wanted to let you know that somebody on Fanfiction.net has stolen my identity and re-published this story without my consent. I do not have anything published on FF.net as of now. Please report them if you ever come across it.

As the clouds were torn through, droplets of freezing water hit his face and chilled his cheeks. Blinking, he squinted through a blurry view of the world, only barely making out the smallest shape of a little, silver machine falling to his death.

"CLANK!" Ratchet screamed. "WAKE UP!"

A glimmer of green eyes gave him a boost of adrenaline. So close. So close to closing the rift between them. He reached out, ignoring the stinging of the cold wind, and activated his hover-boots. Closer, closer, closer. Ratchet's vision was almost completely obscured by his own tears and the debris around them. But he found a curving ledge and used it to gain even more speed, grinding along the cold metal and launching himself towards his best friend.

A familiar feeling of warmth filled his grasp, and Ratchet looked down. Clank was in his arms as he often was during their adventures, and he smiled through the ice on his whiskers. Finally, after all this time-

Celebration had to be postponed, as another tower was growing larger, and Ratchet quickly jettisoned off a decorative orb and the pillar resting several yards next to it. The pounding of metal echoed through the fortress' valley, and Ratchet jumped with all the energy he could muster. He saw green and red, an island floating via magnetic energy, and aimed for it. Skidding across the ground, swallowing dirt and nearly twisting his ankle, Ratchet found his grip on Clank loosening. With only sheer determination, the Lombax reached out and grabbed Clank before he plummeted over the edge. With a heave, the two tossed themselves onto the ground. Meters from the edge of the island.

Rain hit his eyes, nose, and ears. Sunlight began to pour through the clouds, and Ratchet tried to raise a hand to shield his face. All he could muster was moving it to his chest. His body ached, and his tail felt like it had been ripped off and stapled back on.

"Hello, Ratchet."

Ratchet turned to his little friend, Clank. He was there, he was alright, there was no galaxy or communication error between them. The Lombax swallowed and answered "Hey pal. H-how ya doin?" His lips felt dry and his throat was oddly parched.

"I am fine. You?"

Ratchet remembered the immense pain he was in. "Fantastic. I'm fine. I'm just gonna...I'm just gonna lay here for a while, okay?" He started the difficult task of catching his breath. Letting his hand fall back to the grass. The rain finally let up, and the sun started shooing away the whips of lightning and dark grey clouds. The two friends sat there in silence.

Clank wanted to say something, but he also wanted to give Ratchet the chance to rest. He couldn't imagine what his dear friend had gone through in the time they last saw one another. The planets he investigated, the sleepless nights, and...somehow finding another of his own. Clank had so many questions, and he was sure Ratchet felt the same.

"Two years." A hoarse voice mumbled.

Clank perked up. "What?"

"Two years." Ratchet said, more loudly this time. "That's how long you've been gone."

The little robot did a quick check of his internal calendar. ...Indeed, it has been exactly two years since they last saw one another in person. His mechanical eyes narrowed sadly, and he sat up to look at his friend. "Ratchet. I am sorry."

"No, no." Ratchet sat up painfully, a grimace lining his face. "It's not your fault. It's...it's..."

"There is nothing to blame." Clank began. "Events happen, and we do not always have control over them." Tentatively, he rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What is important is that we have found one another again."

The Lombax wiped some dirt from his cheek. "You're all I got left, Clank..." He glanced at him, and Clank could see his big, green eyes shining brightly at him. So bright he could see his reflection in them. Clank frowned, seeing how shiny and well-taken care of he looked. Comparing that to Ratchet's form, matted fur and faint scars in places Clank did not recognize. Even his shining eyes seemed to have changed, as though he had seen something so horrific his very soul was forever cracked.

Ah. They were shining like that for a reason; those were _tears_. And those stains on his muzzle were not from the rain. Sorrow filled Clank's chest, like a dent that wouldn't buff out. All that for him? Clank raised a finger to say something-

Ratchet ignored all formalities between the two and suddenly grabbed Clank, holding him close in a bear hug. For a second, the little machine was surprised but let his head fall into the crook of Ratchet's shoulder blade. Ratchet's hands were shaking, clutching tightly on chrome skin. With a heavy breath, Ratchet sobbed.

"I can't lose you again, pal." He said. "I can't."

"That will not happen." The defect said sternly. Before knowing his mother and father, Ratchet was the only family he had. They had spent so many lightyears doing so many amazing things together. He would not give up their bonds of friendship that easily. Clank found himself hugging back just as tightly. How he had truly missed his friend.

_Never again._

The two halves made whole again stayed that way for a long time, on the little floating island in the sky.

"Actually, there _is_ someone to blame, Clank." Ratchet murmured. "Next time I see 'im, I'm gonna kick Nefarious' ass so hard he'll see Tachyon's dimension." Ratchet growled, his tail flicking a bit with trigger-happy excitement. Clank chuckled, and nodded in agreement. There was that spunk he'd been missing.


End file.
